Shopping in New Delhi

One of the things we discovered during our trip is that most shops are closed on Sundays. This can be quite a surprise to Filipinos in particular as "malling" is a favorite weekend activity.

On the Sunday that we were there,as most of the establishments were closed, our driver brought us to Cottage Emporium. My apologies but I don't really know where this is located. There's another Central Cottage Emporium at Connaught Place, which we also went to, but both establishments are quite pricey compared to the markets which I will be recommending in the next few days.

Anyway, in the first Cottage Emporium we visited, you can find carpets, pashmina shawls, cotton and silk fabrics, teas, etc. The carpets, with a bit of haggling, are reasonably priced, I suppose, as my boss ended up buying 4. You have to give the guys credit for packing the carpets so well and snugly (with a sample shown and labeled flying carpet)that all four fit in my boss' handcarry and luggage. Of course, he did have big bags.

When shopping in India, one has to be focused on what one wants and quite determined to stick to one's plan. Salespeople are quite pushy and see "hard sell" as the only approach.

Up next: What they say you should buy in India

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